


Starry Eyes Sparking Up My Darkest Night

by The_German_Grim_Reaper



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, The Last Jedi
Genre: F/M, Kissing, Surprisingly not that angsty, That Elevator Scene, his name is KYLO not BEN, kissing in an elevator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-13
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-04 10:55:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13363176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_German_Grim_Reaper/pseuds/The_German_Grim_Reaper
Summary: If this is their last day in the galaxy... it'll be worth it because she got to spend it with him.Rey can turn him.  Bring him back to the light.  She knows it... and so does he.  And honestly, she just can't help herself.  She just wishes they'd managed to stop before the doors opened.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from "Call It What You Want" by Taylor Swift. I swear I listen to more than just Taylor Swift. It's actually nothing like the rest of what I listen to. But for some reason it gets me in the Reylo feels, so I'm going with it.
> 
> Having just seen the movie for the third time in less than a month, I started writing in the car on the way home, and this is what happened. Actually it wasn't my idea- one of my friends mentioned that she'd thought they were gonna kiss in the elevator scene, and I made a joke about Snoke interrupting them, and my sister told me in no uncertain terms that I needed to write that. So I did, and I'm far too proud of this trash.
> 
> A lot of the characters listed will appear in the next (final) chapter. Chapter 1 is pretty much Rey and Kylo and Snoke. Also, I managed to at least partially put my feelings about Kylo's name into words! Let me know what you think!

“I saw your future, Ben. Just the shape of it, but clear. I saw that you’re going to turn. I can help you.” She steps closer, looking into his eyes.

“I saw something too. And because of that I know, when the moment comes, you will be the one to turn.” He tells her. Rey can’t be sure, but she thinks she sees his eyes dart to her lips.

“ _Let_ me help you.” She whispers, moving to brush a strand of hair out of his face before remembering her handcuffs.

He stares into her eyes for several heartbeats. Then, with a trembling hand, he reaches up to stroke the side of her face. “ _Rey_.”

They are still for several seconds, scarcely daring to breathe, before their lips meet. Rey isn’t even sure who moves first. All she knows is that they crash together, fiery passion replacing the tender hesitation. And then his hands are in her hair and she wishes desperately that hers were free so she could do the same.

She doesn’t know how long it lasts. All she knows is that it felt like an eternity, a wonderful eternity, and she wishes it had been longer. She doesn’t even register the sound of the doors sliding open, too entranced by the feeling of Kylo’s lips on hers.

They are interrupted by a sound- no, a _feeling_ \- of extreme disgust and contempt in the Force. Rey breaks away from Kylo, turning to face the source with pink cheeks and gasping breath. Her eyes widen as she remembers their surroundings. Snoke is on his throne, staring at them with wide eyes and a disgusted expression.

"Supreme Leader!” Kylo chokes out beside her. She risks a glance at him to make sure he’s not actually choking- Snoke has been known to use the Force for such purposes- but he simply looks horrified. A brief flash of hurt flares up in her heart, but she shoves it down mercilessly. His horror most likely has nothing to do with her skill (or lack thereof) at kissing and more to do with the fact that Snoke saw them.

“I thought you were a faithful apprentice. Clearly,” Snoke snarls, regaining his composure, “ _I was mistaken_!”

With one raised hand, he pulls Kylo away from Rey and onto the floor before his throne. “Master-” Kylo gasps out, attempting to push himself off of the floor. It is clear that the Force is pinning him down.

“ _Silence_!” Snoke hisses sharply. Kylo visibly flinches and ceases fighting.  “Restrain him.”

“ _No_!” Rey screams, as two of the red-robed guards move to grab Kylo. She pushes with the Force, away from Kylo, but it only lasts a second. Then she is being forced to her knees and Snoke’s attention is on her.

“And _you_. The light that corrupted my traitorous apprentice. You will give me Skywalker and then I will _obliterate_ you.”

“I will _never_ give up Skywalker.” She snarls in reply. “You underestimate me. _And_ Ben.” She is lifted off of her feet and she can _feel_ him in her mind, reading her every thought and looking for the map.

After only moments, he leaves her mind. She didn’t think he would find it that easily- had she been wrong?

No, Snoke doesn’t look triumphant. He looks absolutely disgusted, like he has just tasted something foul. “ _That_ ,” he says, face twisting, “was more detail than I ever needed about my apprentice’s lips.”

Rey blushes scarlet, but does not reply. She doesn’t want to make things worse than they already are. She focuses on hiding the map, staying strong against Snoke’s inevitable second attack.

And the attack does come, although Snoke takes several seconds to clear his mind before he re-enters her mind. This time, it lasts longer, and she can feel it the instant he sees the island.

“When I destroy Skywalker, I shall do it most painfully. And he shall die with the knowledge that his beloved nephew was not strong enough for _either_ side of the Force.” He gloats. Then, to his guards, he says, “Release him.”

They let go of Kylo, who falls to the floor and quickly picks himself up. He glares at Snoke but Rey can see the panic in his eyes. She wonders what is going on. Surely Snoke cannot still trust Ben?

Snoke motions with one hand, and Kylo’s lightsaber returns to it’s owner. He and Rey are both staring at it, at a loss. “ _Ben Solo_.” Snoke sneers. “I will give you one last chance to prove your loyalty. Kill the girl, and I shall grant you a merciful death.”  


“And if I refuse?” His voice is remarkably level for the amount of pain Rey can feel in the Force.

“Then I shall kill her, and you, in the most painful ways imaginable.”

Kylo turns to Rey. Indecision flickers in his gaze as he steps closer to her, holding the unlit lightsaber in front of him. “Rey...” He whispers, torment evident in his tone.

“Ben, please. Don’t do this.” Rey begs. She isn’t begging for her life, but for his. If he kills her, he will never come back from it.

Kylo’s gaze darkens and he looks away, still holding the saber. With trembling fingers, he moves to light it. Behind him, there is a strangled cry.

Rey looks up with wide eyes as Snoke collapses in his throne, sliced in two by a glowing blue saber. Before she can process what is happening, Kylo has cut off her bonds and the saber is in her hands, as they face the guards together.

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

They are in an escape pod as the ship shatters behind them. A cruiser at lightspeed has cut the ship in two, and they have only barely escaped. “We did it, Ben. You did it.” She laughs breathlessly.

He takes her hand. “Kylo.” He corrects.

“But... Kylo Ren was your darkness. Ben Solo is your light.” She tells him, confused. “And now that Snoke is gone, you’re free to be Ben.”

“Ben Solo was a foolish child who allowed himself to be turned. I’m not him anymore.” Kylo explains. “I don’t know how to make you understand.”

“I thought that since you killed Snoke, Kylo Ren was gone.”

“Maybe, but so is Ben Solo. Being Ben again would mean forgetting that. I can never be that innocent again. Switching sides in this war doesn’t change the fact that I am Kylo Ren.” He explains, knowing it doesn’t make sense to her.

“I...” She trails off. “Are you still the person I spoke with the on the island?” _The one I fell in love with?_

“Of course.” His eyes are wary; he isn’t sure what she’s going to say.

“Then I don’t care _what_ your name is. As long as you’re _you_.” She decides, reaching out and grabbing his hand. The wariness in his expression melts into something more pleasant.

“You’re the only person who’s ever come _close_ to understanding me.” He breathes. “I...”

“I know.” She says with a small smile. "Me too."

And then she leans in, pressing her lips to his, and it’s like they never left the elevator. All she knows is Kylo and the pure love she’s pouring into the bond. If they were fire last time, this time they're an inferno. Passion overwhelms her and she loses herself in the feel of his skin, the taste of his lips, the touch of his hands.

And just for a moment, she can forget the horrors that had transpired. The fact that they’re just as likely be dead tomorrow as alive. There is nothing more important than this, and if this is their last day in the galaxy, it’ll be _worth it_ because she got to spend it with him.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo and Rey have killed Snoke and escaped from the First Order- but how will General Organa react to seeing her son again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long... I lost most of my inspiration for all things Star Wars. I’ll try to finish this soon, but I can’t make any promises. Maybe sometime in March?
> 
> Sorry for any mistakes- I’m posting this from my phone because the internet is down.

As it turns out, First Order escape pods are much faster than Resistance transporters. Rey and Kylo join the fleet- or what is left of it- just as they begin to enter the atmosphere.

  
Rey doesn’t have the Resistance access codes. She has no way of sending a message to their ships. But she does have the Force. If she can’t reach the ships, maybe she can reach the people on them.

  
_general organa?_ She thinks hesitantly. There is silence for several moments before a faint voice answers,

  
_rey?_

  
_its me in the pod. theres a lot of stuff i have to tell you please dont shoot_. She sends, struggling to maintain the connection.

  
“Rey?” This time it’s not General Organa. Rey’s concentration is broken as she spins around to face Kylo, cursing as she feels the General vanish from her mind. “We’ll be landing any second now.” His eyes are questioning.

  
“I was talking to your- to the General.” She admits in response to his unasked question. “I didn’t tell her about you,” she adds, as anger flickers across his face, “but I said it’s me in the pod and they shouldn’t try to shoot me down. I thought... I thought you might want to tell her yourself.”

  
“I don’t... I don’t know what I want to do.” He sighs, running a hand through his hair. “There’s so _much_.” He doesn’t explain, but he doesn’t have to. Rey can feel it through the bond, the intense emotions running through his mind. She closes her eyes and lets them rush over her.

  
“You aren’t her Ben anymore... you don’t want her to hate you but you don’t think you deserve for her not to.” She says, opening her eyes.

  
“I don’t deserve her. Hell, I don’t deserve _you_.” He admits, as the pod touches down inside a cave. They couldn’t have had this conversation if he was piloting- Rey thanks the Force for autopilot.

  
“You’re wrong. She never gave up hope for you, not even- not ever.” She hastily corrects, hoping he didn’t catch her near mention of Han’s death. That’s another conversation that needs to be had, but unlike this one, it can wait. “I can tell her, if you’d rather. Or you.”

  
He doesn’t reply, but she can feel the fleeting thought that he pushes to her only half-jokingly.

  
“You can’t hide from her forever. And they’re going to need you when the First Order gets here.” She tells him.

  
“I’ll tell her. Just... just get everyone away who doesn’t need to be here. And then I’ll tell her.” His eyes are begging her, pleading for her to agree. She doesn’t see why he feels the need to beg.

  
“Of course.” She leans in and presses a soft, chaste kiss to his lips. Then she opens the doors and steps outside.

  
General Organa is waiting for her, along with a man in a pilot’s uniform. Around them, the surviving transports are being disembarked. General Organa smiles softly when she sees Rey.

  
“I’ll admit, the symbol on the side of that pod about gave me a heart attack.” She jokes, motioning to the First Order vessel.

  
Rey laughs softly, but sobers quickly. “There’s something I have to tell you. Privately.”

  
“My officers?” Leia asks, not a second of hesitation.

  
“Only the ones who need to be here. Like I said, it’s... private. And important.” Rey tells her, glancing back at the ship. She wants Kylo by her side but knows that would completely invalidate this conversation.

  
“Clear the room. Poe, Commander D’Acy, you’re with me.” Leia’s eyes never leave Rey as she speaks. Within seconds, the last survivors are disappearing into another room. “Now, tell me what you’ve come to say.” Her expression is open, inviting; she has no idea the impact of this news will have.

  
Rey glances at the other two people- the pilot and a commander with a prominent nose- and decides that if General Organa trusts them, they’re trustworthy. “When I stole that ship... I didn’t come alone.”

  
Leia inhales sharply, but that is the only visible effect of that news. But Rey knows that she knows. There’s nobody else she could be talking about.

  
“I said that there was no light left in him. I was wrong.” Rey admits, looking back at the pod. The door is still open and as she watches, Kylo steps out of the shadows.

  
Poe makes a strangled sound and moves for his blaster, but is stopped by the other commander. Leia is no longer watching Rey; all eyes are on the figure emerging from the shuttle.

  
“My son.” Leia breathes. Kylo’s expression is blank but Rey can feel his swirling emotions. As he slowly walks down the ramp, and Leia takes a halting step forward, Rey feels like an outsider. She’s an intruder who shouldn’t be witnessing this moment. But she can’t leave; Kylo needs her.

  
He doesn’t say anything, just looks at her with that blank expression. After several seconds, Leia looks over at Rey and the others. “Leave us.” She says quietly, before turning back to face her son.

  
Rey looks at Kylo questioningly. _kylo? is that okay?_ He nods at her, eyes meeting hers for a fraction of a second before flitting back to his mother. _ill be in the other room ok ill come back if you need me._ She leads the other two out of the room.

  
It is only when they are safely through the door that she thinks to look at them. Poe, she sees, is clearly conflicted. Not in the same way she had been- she had been torn between seeing Kylo’s dark and believing in his light. Poe is torn between trying to kill him and running away. At the moment, killing him is winning. She doesn’t even need the Force to see that; it is written all over his face and in his body language.

  
Commander D’Acy is standing beside him, guiding him away from the scene with a hand on his back. She has shoved aside her own emotions in order to deal with his.

  
Rey wishes she could do the same but she just doesn’t know how. She should know how. After all, she felt the same way only days ago. She had hated and feared Kylo, despised him for what happened on Starkiller Base. But after everything that had happened, the concept of anyone feeling that way just seemed alien.

  
“How could you bring him here?” Poe snarls at her. “He’ll kill us all!”

  
Rey reaches out with her senses. No one is close enough to hear their conversation; the other members of the Resistance were on the other side of the hangar. “I know you have no reason to trust him-”

  
“Trust? You think the problem is that I don’t _trust_ him? No, I trust him. I trust him to do _everything in his power_ to kill us off. And you’re a fool if you don’t see that.”

  
“ _Captain_!” D’Acy reprimands, but she doesn’t look like she disagrees.  
“Kylo wouldn’t-” Rey begins, but is cut off.

  
“Oh, so you’re on a first-name basis now?” He shoves away from D’Acy. “I thought you were supposed to be a hero. I guess they were wrong about you.”

  
“I never claimed to be a hero. But if you would just listen-”

  
“To _what_? You defending your pet monster? He’s probably on direct orders from Snoke- hell, how do we know you aren’t working for him-”

  
“Kylo _killed_ Snoke!” She shouts, clenching her fists and using every bit of power she has to restrain herself from punching him.  
That shuts him up. “...Wait, what?” He asks, after several seconds of silence pass.

  
“I was there, I know what happened, and Kylo killed Snoke. He’s not who you think he is.” Rey snaps, narrowing her eyes at him. _This_ was Leia’s most trusted pilot?

  
“Even if he did kill Snoke, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a monster.” Poe argues.

  
Her own words of the first day on the island drift through her memory. _“You’re a monster.” “Yes, I am.”_  
“He’s not who you think he is.” She repeats. “He... he’s different. He saved my life and he killed Snoke and...” Rey trails off, glancing between Poe and D’Acy. She decides not to reveal her and Kylo’s relationship.

  
“I believe that you believe that.” Poe decides after several seconds. “But I don’t believe that it’s true. Kylo Ren is evil and nothing will ever change that.”

  
Rey shakes her head. “What Captain Dameron means to say,” D’Acy tells her, hesitatingly, “is that Kylo Ren has given us no reason to trust him. We have only your word to tell us that he is changed, and as you know, even memories are suspect when it comes to the Force.”

  
“You think he tampered with my memories?” She asks, horrified. Not at him; he _didn’t_. She’s horrified that they would ever think he would do something like that.

  
“It’s possible. I will refrain from passing judgement on the matter until I have spoken with General Organa.” D’Acy says. She’s being very diplomatic about it, but Rey can sense her uneasiness in the Force.

  
Before Rey can reply, the door swings open. General Organa is standing there, looking perfectly dignified. Somehow she can make even tearstained cheeks and red-rimmed eyes look regal.

  
She motions for them to follow her, and they do. Leia leads them across the hangar, towards the rest of the Resistance. Before she opens the door, she looks back at Kylo, who stares back so many emotions Rey doesn’t know where to begin. Then Leia pushes the door open and steps inside.

  
Every voice hushes, every movement stops. Every single member of the Resistance is looking at Leia, attentive and still. They hold their breath as they wait for her to speak, the gravity of this moment permeating the very air.

  
“The tides of this war,” she says, “have shifted. We have gained a valuable ally today. Beyond that, we have regained hope. Hope that there is still light even in the darkest of days.”

  
Somehow, the air becomes even quieter as Kylo steps into the room. Then, within heartbeats, recognition dawns in everyone’s eyes. And suddenly, nothing is quiet.

  
Rey looks at Kylo, sending him the mental equivalent of a sigh. This was _not_ how the had hoped this meeting would go.


End file.
